Louisville cannot set a local minimum wage above Kentucky's $7.25 floor. The Kentucky Supreme Court's 2016 Holland decision struck down Louisville's $9 ordinance, preempting all local wage-floor legislation under KRS 337.275.
Louisville Metro Council adopted a $9 minimum wage in 2014, phasing in to $9 by 2017. Kentucky businesses sued and prevailed in Holland v. Louisville/Jefferson County Metro Government (2016), in which the Kentucky Supreme Court ruled that KRS 337.275 occupies the wage-floor field, preempting cities. Louisville's minimum wage today equals the federal $7.25 hourly rate (and Kentucky's matching floor). Louisville retains authority over its own contractor pay through the Living Wage Ordinance 153-2014, requiring Metro contractors to pay above-floor wages, but cannot regulate private-employer minimums.
There is no local violation framework. Federal Department of Labor enforces the $7.25 federal floor under FLSA, with back-wages plus liquidated damages and possible willful-violation penalties up to $1,100 per repeat infraction.
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See how Louisville's minimum wage preemption rules stack up against other locations.
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